“You need to be competitive”
That’s what most people say: “You need to be competitive” No. You need to be competent. First, competent.
Is another good idea
The message from yesterday was asking “What’s the opposite of a good idea?”. A bunch of responses —myself included not long ago— said “A bad idea”. And it makes sense…. if we’re living in a world of dualities, win-lose, zero-sum, black and white. But that’s not the case. 🙂 Listening to this amazing conversation between Rick Rubin and Rory Sutherland, here’s what Rory said: “The opposite of a good idea is another good idea.” Because creativity (and originality) is not about beating the…
650
Here’s Billy. A specialized b2b expert in a very niched market. Yesterday, he got to sell a custom application (B) for a client as an added featured to another product (A). The costs of the materials of this added (B) application are $200. The price set, 650. Is this a good or a bad deal? . . . . . . . Your answer here. . . . . . . The price for the base instrument (A) is $ 16 000. . . . Still keep your thought of good / bad deal? Let me know what you think. PS. The main device (D) to where…
Getting some profit
650 in revenue with 200 in costs. It can be a good deal. If you think of covering your costs and get some profit. But here’s the thing. This is self-centered. It’s all about the seller. All about your costs. About your profit. It doesn’t take into account your customer. To what they value. To what they can find fair. Now move this same behavior to an expertise business. It doesn’t cost you anything: Thinking Coming up with new approaches Seeing things differently, Knowing how to do something…
Kryptonite
“What’s your weakness?” is a must question when interviewing for roles. It’s stupid. Just picture this. Superman is applying for a role at the Justice League. He gets the question: “So… What’s your weakness?” He knows. You know. I know. They know. It’s kryptonite. And what are they going to ask? “How can you improve your weakness against it?” What’s he going to do? “Well, when I see it, I’ll run away…?” See the ridiculousness of the question? (: Now, we’re not from Krypton. We’re humans….
Your own prison
A prison where you’re trapped —of your own making. That’s how Blair Enns describes pricing and the feeling of stagnation you might have —how you “can’t” raise your prices just like that. [You can also listen to it here] And he’s right. Traditional pricing (and how most of us have been taught on it) has to do with how we charge, based on what it costs us, and the extra (margins/profits) we’re supposed to make. This margin of what we’re supposed to make usually gets to be based on: what the…
As a buyer
In response to the 650 question on if Billy’s deal was good or bad, friend of the list and great illustrator and designer Rad came back with one question that was HUGE (edited slightly for conciseness, shared with permission). “The customer got a heck of a deal from Billy because they’re sure to make a killing with the enhancements because it’s already 16,000 to get the instrument but only less than 10% to get the upgrade.Billy could have charged more. (I think)What am i missing?” Here’s a…
Either option is ok
No such thing as purpose branding. You either have it in your business or not. And either option is totally ok. You can have a business led by purpose or not. And either option is totally ok. Just have this in mind: if you do lead your business with purpose, purpose is the thing that drives and aligns all decisions and actions. Building a brand rests on your customers, not you. And it’s an effect, not a cause.
More on purpose
Purpose is not optional. It’s there with you. You never lost it (so no reason to “find” it). It’s what’s in you.
Fast, cheap AND good.
Fast, cheap AND good. All of them. How? You might ask. Well, setting up the right frame. To have it fast, you’d assume time is the key element. But what if it’s faster than the others? To have it cheap, you’d assume how much you can charge in comparison to others. But what if you provide options (with a high anchor)? 150 000 is cheap —compared to 5 million. To have it good. Well, if you can’t deliver good, do something else. And if you can’t deliver good, say no. Small detail here: this can…